That thing I do every day. I still try to write every once in a while to keep that up and maintain my neat style.

With the job I am currently in we're so prone to distraction. You're answering requests via email. Then you have the phone calls and the people who walk up for help. Some have even taken to instant messaging us because they realized we use Skype for Business and we're almost always online! Not everyone across campus probably uses Skype but it's incredibly useful for us when we need to talk to someone in the department.

Some days I'll be typing an email or trying to type a message to one of our senior staff and someone will start talking to me. It could be one of my coworkers or someone in the area just popping in to say hi and see how our day is going and what plans we might have for the weekend. As I'm eager to finish my sentence in the email or message I find I'm always looking up from my screen and keyboard. I'm still typing but part of my brain is now focusing on the person who is speaking to me. I may even be able to respond back to them but not all the time.

It's one thing to be able to listen to what someone is saying and maybe nod along. It's another to be able to form a response and speak it and not find yourself also typing that. I feel like I am speaking in my head when I'm typing a sentence. So to be able to continue typing but then respond to someone who is speaking to you... makes my brain hurt.

I am impressed, however, when I don't completely mangle my sentence or paragraph. I sometimes even impress myself when I sense I've made a mistake and I can backspace to correct it. I figure as long as my fingers are in the right spot on the keyboard then I shouldn't make too many mistakes. It's a progression of your skill. You might have to start by looking at your fingers and where they rest on the keyboard. Eventually, you start focusing on the screen. You can still kind of see your hands and see what you're typing. Then you do away with looking at the screen and you start typing maybe what you have on a paper next to you. I used to see a girl do this in public school. She had her essay written up on paper and she was just looking at it while her fingers typed away.

It can't be much further to be able to listen to someone talk to you while you continue to type. Of course, right now I might have to admit to watching the newer Godzilla movie while I type this up. I swear this movie only starts when the military boys try to retrieve the nuke and the female monster is laying her eggs in the ground below the streets. Then they hear a noise and you see Godzilla's tail swish stealthily through the smoke and debris. There's a flash of lightning that illuminates Godzilla. He leans forward and roars. Then there's a battle and eventually some blue flame. It's awesome. Of course, this is maybe the last 20 or 30 minutes of the movie.

4 blog comments below

Wow, I am impressed. I cannot multitask like that but then I am hooked on using voice recognition software to get my thoughts out of my head. Plus, I have always been a poor typist.

I sometimes think of my typing fingers as extension of my brains, like somewhere between the two there is a connection. Sometimes OK and sometimes, particularly when I'm very tired, I transverse letters or numbers.

You should see it when I'm not so careful where I lay my hands on the keyboard. Shift a step or two to the left or right and garbage comes out. Happens when I move too quickly from one station to another when I try to help someone. If I don't make sure the monitor and keyboard and mouse are in the right place it really slows me down.